The present invention relates to a support unit for use on or with an air spring.
Support units, in particular for supporting the plunger of an air spring, are known from the prior art. They are required in particular if the utility vehicle is intended to be able to perform crane loading, wherein the utility vehicle is raised, and the pivotable control arms suspended on the air springs are displaced downward by the weight of the wheels of the utility vehicle, wherein the plunger is pulled out of the air spring. In this case, it has proven to be advantageous to provide a facility for raising the plunger from the control arm. In this way, excessively high loads on the air spring bellows, and tearing of the latter, are prevented. To nevertheless position the plunger correctly on the control arm, a support unit is provided which supports the plunger, and holds it in the correct position relative to the control arm, during normal operation of the utility vehicle. As a result of this design, however, more components are required than in the case of a conventional plunger, and the weight of the air spring is higher, owing to the multiplicity of different components in engagement with one another, than in the case of a plunger of unipartite form.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a support unit which permits firstly high operational reliability, flexible adaptation to different air spring units, and a reduction in weight of the air spring and/or of the assemblies adjoining the air spring unit.